Cute Cozy Mystery which is just as its named, the perfect "Beach Read"!

Lucy and Conner make a cute couple. I didn't realize this was part of a cozy book series, but it was easy enough to follow along.

Takes place in Outer Banks, NC. Its got action, suspense, a library and a cat. What more can you ask for?

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a free digital copy of this book for an honest review.

Overall rating 3.5

[First, I’d like to say, thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to review this ARC with honesty.]

To start, when I first picked up this ARC, I did not realize that it was in the middle of a series and tried to read it briefly before disliking the confusion. To be fair, I’m not that type of reader that likes to start from the beginning but I will say in my opinion, it might be best to read this series from the beginning. So apologies for the lateness. I wanted to do the story right and read it properly.

That being said, I’ve been enjoying it thus far and find this book probably one of my favorites of The Lighthouse books. I found Lucy much more courageous and you get to see more of her relationship with each character. I found a couple loose ends but I’ve caught on in these books, that may not have been by mistake. Regardless, I had a good time with Lucy and the gang and will continue on with them.

[I could not listen to it in time before it was archived, so I had to physically read it. That is what I’m basing my review on.]

Very quick audiobook. I loved the mystery aspect and it was such a fun cozy mystery. Highly recommend for anyone who likes cozy mysteries. Loved the narrators as well.

This book is part of the cozy mystery series. I loved the narrator, the setting is in the Outer Banks, NC which is one of my favorite beaches. I have fallen in love with the characters in this series and continue to see them grow. I devoured this audiobook and can't wait to for the next one in the series!

Death by Beach Read, by Eva Gates, is a great beach read, set off the coast of North Carolina. The narration is pleasant to listen to. I both accessed the audio and read an actual copy of this novel. Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher, for providing me with an ARC ebook in exchange for my honest review.

Elise Arsenault did an excellent job narrating this fun and suspenseful cozy mystery. Lucy thinks she may be going crazy, between wedding planning and moving into a new house, she starts to believe that someone may be coming and going from the new house or is it just haunted as is the old story about the house. When an unknown man is found dead in her kitchen, the question is how did this man even get in to the house? There’s a lot going on and I really enjoyed listening to this story.

Death by Beach Read is part of a cozy mystery series with librarians, lighthouses, cats and, of course, murder, so what's not to like?! The setting is Nags Head and the Outer Banks barrier islands off the coast of North Carolina, which makes it even more appealing.

Book Review ⭐️

Death by Beach Read
By Eva Gates

This book had a lot of Katy sarcasm and passive aggressive interactions between the characters it was just like the worst group of women you could ever imagine having to spend time with

The main character is planning a wedding but that’s just casually mentioned here and there are not a lot of details about it

the groom doesn’t seem to jazzed kind of sees it as a burden and that’s a downer.

It just seems like there was a family that had something traumatic happened in their mental health was never addressed but everybody in the town knew about

now this poor lady who bought this house is being plaques by all the towns unstable members.

I just wasn’t a good fit for me, but i would classify it as a light mystery.

Thank you to netgalley and the author for the copy of the audiobook for my honest review

Death by Beach Read is one in a series of books which is both its greatest strength and weakness. I came into reading this book believing that it was a standalone novel and was very confused by the lack of character development and background. Unbeknownst to me at the time, this had been thoroughly handled in the previous novels.
The actual murder of the murder mystery was well thought out, and occured later in the book than I anticipated. I had many "Don't go in there!!" moments while reading the book, and was irritated by the deceitful nature of many of the characters.
Overall, a well thought out mystery, but the other books are needed for background.

I love this cozy mystery series. It has all of my favorite things: librarians, book clubs and a kitty with an awesome personality! Lucy is such a fun character. She always gets into the craziest situations. Charles the Library kitty is also a favorite. He is sure a great judge of character. I highly recommend this series. Thank you to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

This was a super cute cozy mystery and the fact that it has books/a library means I am all in! I liked the love story and the fact that there was a happy ending. I have now read the first book and last book in this series and I need to go and read all the books in between! I will definitely be reading more of her books!

#DeathbyBeachRead
#NetGalley

I’m not usually one to be found reading cozy mysteries, preferring for the most part slightly darker thriller types, but this particular book was very enjoyable.
Spring has arrived in the Outer Banks of North Carolina and Lucy and Conner have just moved into their new home. It’s a beautiful historic cottage on Nags Head Beach. A lot of renovations are needed but they have been working hard. Lucy is happily working at the Bodie Island Lighthouse Library, planning her upcoming nuptials, and decorating the house. However, the discovery of a dead body kind of puts a damper on their peaceful home.
Lucy hears noises from the house and decides to investigate. She finds footsteps in the dust and the door open to the outside. Lucy knows the house is said to be haunted. Forty years ago the teenage daughter of the owners fled in the night, never to set foot in the house again.
Still, the sounds in her home have an all too human origin and one night Lucy and Connor find the dead body of a man on the floor in their kitchen. Soon they find out who it is and an entire mystery begins to unravel.
I won’t tell you more about it so that you can find some things out for yourself as you go. It’s such a fun story and one that is very easy to lose yourself in. I definitely recommend this book.

I thought this was a really cute beach read. The mystery was light a fun, although a little predictable. Still a fun read!

Good audio rendition, a little heavy on the southern, sounded more like a South Carolina or Louisiana accent versus an Outer Banks. I would also suggest reading the previous two books because it is going to give some needed background. The story had some very good plot development as Lucy and Connor work on their "new to them" beach house and Lucy works on solving a mysterious summer murder that literally fell into her kitchen (versus her lap) while continuing to work on wedding plans. Plenty of red herrings to throw both Lucy and myself off track. New characters with old problems and old characters with new problems add to the mystery.

The narrator's voice made listening to this story fun. I had already read the book so I knew what was going to happen. Yet, it was different listening to the story instead of reading it.

The audio was clear and the reader made no mistakes. The great thing about an audio story/book is that you can close your eyes and make believe you're right there alongside the characters.

I won't give too much away. However, it was interesting to find the "hidden" passage in the house. What the story was behind the "boy" that never came back, and overall how the story unfolds.

Great characters, great narrator, great story We have a winner, folks!

This was a wonderful beach read. I took this cozy mystery on vacation, to the beach and it was wonderful. It was a pageturner and I devoured the cozy vibes.
This book was easy to get into and held up yo my scrutiny of to easy to solve cozy mysteries.
You won't be disappointed in this one.

What a fun read! This is a really charming cozy mystery, and highly entertaining. It contains so many delightful elements—the main character is a librarian, and a very discerning and clever cat shares her home and workspace—and the beachfront setting in the Outer Banks adds to the pleasure. Plus, the restoration of an historic home, local folklore and ghost stories, and family drama add complications to the plot. I listening to the audiobook and the narrator does a wonderful job of distinguishing between the different characters. This is the perfect summer cozy mystery for lovers of old books, old houses, and family legends! Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this audiobook.

Connor and Lucy have just moved into their new home. It’s an old house on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. And this house comes with a past. But, when the past meets the present, no one is safe!

This is not my usual genre. I am not much for cozy mysteries. But, I fell in love with the cover and the title!

The story is a sweet tale with a cute cat and a wonderful library…in a lighthouse…I mean…what’s not to love about that! Add in the house which was used by rum runners during the prohibition and you have a very enjoyable read.

Now, the characters are a bit simple. And I did not really picture Lucy and her fiancé, Connor, together. I did not feel too much chemistry between them. But, the setting is what really sold this book for me, Nags Head and the Outer Banks! Perfect! Also, the ghostly tale which is connected to the house definitely keeps the story moving!

I have not read the other books in this series and I did not feel lost at all. I may have to go back and pick up some of these cozy mysteries!

The narrator, Elise Arsenault, did a really good job! I will be looking out for her!

Need a quick, enjoyable story…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

I just couldn't get into the book. It was too much of a cozy mystery for my liking. Maybe I didn't give it the chance it deserved, but I felt 12% was all I could handle. Thank you #Netgalley for the opportunity to listen to the book, but it just isn't my cup of tea.

I wish I had known it was a series prior the requesting (so I could be ready). But overall I enjoyed the book by itself and it motivated me to go back and listen to previous titles to get caught up.